3D 프린팅과 저작권보호

Abstract

3D printing technology allows us to design and make 3D object using a 3D printer which performs additive manufacturing. As kind of ICT, it has developed with on-line file sharing system, because this industries cannot survive without the CAD files. With decreasing the cost of 3D printing due to the advent of low-cost 3D printers and easiness of access to design files, the area of 3D printing is getting increasingly diversified from trivial useful things to prosthesis. It is natural that the copyright issues come under the spotlight because digital design files can be transferred, copied and transformed easily through the Internet like other cases e.g. MP3 files, movie files etc. In 3D printing, there are several specified issues to scrutinize as compared with other cases. The first thing is the copyrightability of 3D printed objects and CAD files. If a 3D printed object is kind of a useful article, it should be examined whether it can be copyrighted or not. One of the key tests is the ‘severability’ test. It means that copyright protection is limited to the artistic features of the object by severing them from the rest useful parts of the object. The second is the protection of CAD files. They seem to be a digital design as the applied art. So it needs to be considered of severability in CAD files. The third is the understanding of the environment of 3D printing. To vitalize the 3D printing industries, the permissive license like CCL can give more the clarity between designers and users on the online community.